Machinefabriek L. Straatman was established in 1902 by Mr. L. Straatman. In Dordrecht the company rapidly grew in the field of kettle construction and ship repairs. In the 90′s the company was taken over by “Van de Graaf’s Werktuig- en Constructiebouw BV”. In 1996 Machinefabriek L. Straatman moved to Zwijndrecht. In 2004 Straatman took over all the activities of “Van de Graaf’s Werktuig- en Constructiebouw BV”.
For over 50 years we fabricated hydraulic presses, heavy winches and custom build projects. In 1965 we entered the dredging market by developing a steel plate ball joint for floating pipelines together with Bos&Kalis. This company also ordered the first drag heads. Through the years we developed our dredging program and we now deliver dredging components all over the world.
In 1974 we started the production of container handling frames, the so called spreaders. The spreader was developed with the advice of ECT.
One of our best known products is developed for the dredging industry. It is a bow coupling installation for hopper dredgers. With this installation a quick connection can be made between the ship and the floating pipeline. Until now we have delivered hundreds of bow coupling installations all over the world.
To increase our product range we developed a complete range of quick release towing hooks and quick release mooring hooks. The quick release hooks fits perfectly in our product range and it is a well known product of us around the world.
In 2007 Machinefabriek L. Straatman has been taken over by Gertjan Strietman. Since then we further extended our product portfolio with amongst others Berthing Aid Systems, a sophisticated solar system for the maritime market and the patented Smart Bollard. We deliver turn key solutions worldwide including MoorControl system integration and communication to port management systems. We still design, engineer and manufacture our products in our own factory in Zwijndrecht, The Netherlands, which keeps the lines short and ensures quality of processes and products. Our enthusiastic and skilled team is committed on every level.